Battle of Upolu
King of the Seas At one point, the island of Upolu brimmed with vitality. The people danced in the streets, the merchants flooded the marketplace with promises of treasures never seen, the nobles sat in their castles and gorged themselves on foods and exotic liquors. For a while, it was a paradise, an island so rich in resources that other nations begged for the mere opportunity to offer trades. They had the leverage in the world, yet that was at one point. Now, the island of Upolu was nothing but a barren wasteland, littered with the bodies of those lost to the hands of war between the infamous Black Widow Pirates and Royal Pirates. Upolu was not unique in this aspect. Many islands had been lost before to Legs and Amaka’s conflicts; their struggle for dominance over the seas. Upolu was one of these few islands that they both desperately wanted to claim, perhaps not for their own self benefit, but rather to ensure that the other didn’t get it. Upolu would have greatly pushed the odds into someone’s favor. Legs stood alongside a small, oval table in the middle of a dilapidated bunker constructed during this conflict, her body glamoured to ensure that she could stand head to head with most of her generals. Her finger touched the map that rested on the table. It had been marked with all sorts of notes that indicated enemy strongholds, resistance movements from the indigenous men of Upolu, and pretty much every other obstacle that was currently preventing this from being a total victory for Legs and her people. “We’ve pretty much pushed one another to a stalemate along this parallel line,” Legs explained, drawing her finger down the middle of the map vertically. “Right now, we both pretty much have half the island. Our forces are all tired though, and weak. We don’t have much fight left, so the next few battles will ultimately decide who gets control of Upolu. Which is why I’m here.” She glanced around the room at her generals, Thatch Vincent, Mathison Fischer, Kosaka Isshin, Aoshin, and Draco D. Indiana. They were the first members of her crew. They had been with her since the beginning, and it was just five years ago that they had become recognized as Yonko by the World Government. With their assistance, leadership and commitment, they were steps closer to being in a position where they could contend. It was why she trusted them with her life. “You guys have been working so hard while I’ve just been sitting in Wano, writing papers, meeting diplomats, forging alliances. I can’t stand it honestly. You have almost secured Upolu, which is why I’m going to do my best to end it and I’m going to end it today. If I come out, Amaka will have no choice come out the shadows and deal with me. But, here’s the problem; if we both step out, the marines will undoubtedly step in.” She pointed to the seas around the island. “The marines have sieged the island all around here waiting for something big to happen. Or, maybe for someone to win. Our best bet, to ensure we can leave after we’ve secured Upolu, is to have you five deal with the marines outside the island. I doubt they have an admiral with them, but…” she looked at Aoshin, “I have no doubts that you can handle it. Which means leave the Royal Pirates to me. Whoever is left, I’ll strike down personally. Unfortunately, though, they’ll know I’m coming. It wasn’t exactly easy to sneak through a marine blockade, so I just sort of charged through. Amaka is probably already making a move, knowing that woman." She surveyed the map yet again, making sure that she didn't miss a single detail in her mind as she desperately attempted to memorize each location she specified with accuracy. "Anybody have any questions while I'm here?" "JOH JOH JOH JOH!" It was Indiana's laughter that came, rather than a question. His face was shaved, almost no wrinkles present, although his hair was still silverish. "Daddy, you are to have no worries! After all, I," He pointed at himself with a wide smile, "INDIANA, am a man of many seeds!!" For sure, his friends would probably recall the many children that came back to try and send him to their home. After all, their mothers were pretty lonely, themselves included. Some of them wound up by his side, one way or the other. And, being his friends, the other Black Widows would also know that one of his eldest children had seemingly gotten pregnant. At the same time, that same child also gained a sibling the other day. It was then that Indiana motioned for the island of Upolu, "Admist our very battles, I have not only studied the entire island, but also left the many vines of the Bain Bain no Mi within there!!" Looking back at her, his smile widened if even possible anymore, fist held out, "My Kenbunshoku Haki coupled with my knowledge of the island shall allow us to keep proper surveillance over you!" While he said so, Indiana's muscles flexed within his clothes. “Good,” Legs nodded, folding her arms across the other. “Then that fixes a lot of stuff. I just need a single favor from you, Indiana….” She leaned closer. “Tell me where the Royal Pirates are.” The only visible reaction that Indiana even had was the widening of his smile and the crossing of his arms. Staring at his Captain, his aura sipped from his being, taking on a purple color that painted the air around him and moved like some kind of ooze. Rather than his Busoshoku, however, Indiana had applied for his Kenbunshoku, the haki that had one's senses honed and in tune with everything around themselves. Yet, what had him truly intended to do by using that Haki? With a certain application of such Haki, Indiana could open the memories and sensations of his spirit even more, enabling for another to read them with even more detail. "Kenbunshoku: Hiken," He uttered, the energy and colors sipping into Legs, giving out the data that he had collected from most of the vines on the island. Legs closed her eyes, allowing the sensory data to infiltrate her mind. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, the picture of the Royal Pirates base becoming clearer by the moment. She opened her eyes slowly. "Perfect." Fischer had been silently tinkering with some kind of contraption on the opposite side of the table for the most part, but he had looked up as Indiana and Legs began talking. After their exchange, he raised an eyebrow in question "I'm sure you just gave her some info, but from here it looks like you had Haki sex. And let me just say: gross." He leaned back in his chair, tapping the screw-driver against the table impatiently "I still think all of this could've been avoided if you had let me bomb the Royals to hell. Sure same of the island would've gotten caught in the crossfire, but we wouldn't be here right now and I would've had a lot more fun..." "And I still said just gassing them would have been easier and quicker but we can't all get what we want." Thatch replied, looking between a vial he held in one hand book in the other. "Not like you'd kill them with bombs anyways." He muttered before staring at the vial and drinking it down. He shuddered a bit before pocketing the empty vial. "Good news is everyone here is looking fit and healthy for battle. And somehow Aoshin still doesn't have an STD." Thatch jotted down a couple notes in the book as he mulled over the concoction he just drank. before pulling out a knife and slicing his finger. The cut healed almost immediately. "More good news, this drug works. Bad news is it's probably going to make most of you ill if you take more than one. I'll work on that." Fischer spared Thatch an annoyed glance "Please. Your gas is as likely to kill the flora, fauna and render the place unlivable as it is to kill them, Vincent." He tossed his screwdriver into the air and caught it as it came down, twirling it through his fingers "And all of my creations are several times better than whatever you can cook up in a petri dish, Red. Remember that." Legs chuckled. “Guys, guys. This isn’t a contest for who can kill more…or less people. Because the answer is definitely neither of you. I am clearly the most suited to killing an entire island. I could’ve cut this island in half with my katana if I really wanted too, ‘kay? So let’s just relax and remember whose really in charge here.” Thatch grinned. "Glad to hear you think my methods are more effective Fishy" He hummed happily as he pulled a petri dish from his pocket and twirled it on the tip of his index finger. "Trust me Fisherman, your manufacturing ain't worth shit against my chemicals." He raised an eyebrow as he spun towards Legs. "Nobody was asking you Legs, we know you could. The hell do you think we made a Yonko crew with six people. We're all monsters in our own right, even if some are," He glanced at Fischer, "Quite annoying monsters." He swiveled his head back to Legs and tossed her a vial from his pocket. "Take this before we go alright." "Sigh." A prolonged sigh came from a man with stark white hair and albino features. Although standing at somewhat of a distance to his comrades, it wasn't because he was disconnected, but rather, he was focused on a completely different topic to the other Black Widow Pirates. This was Kosaka Isshin, one of the Black Widows' two hands, and the Helmsman of their greatest ship. "Then I suppose I can take care of the ships without any problems, right?" He looked back at their Captain, "We don't want our only means of getting off this place completely shattered by those irritating Marine Warships." Suddenly the man began to panic, although he wouldn't let that frustration be visible to anyone else. "You don't think they've already began firing their cannons...have you?" Isshin questioned, hands jittering in anticipation. Fischer didn't know who to dig into first. Legs was liable to kick him, or worse, if he turned his wits on her so that was a no. Thatch was fun to exchange quips with, but he had already had his fill of the redheaded nightmare. Isshin it was. He narrowed his eyes at the snow-haired Helmsman, whistling sharply to get his attention "Even if you were to steer this ship blind folded with your arms tied behind your back, it would survive. Nothing I've built would take any lasting damage from measly cannon fire. Warship or no." "...Oh, I suppose you forgot about the time Aoshin made me crash into an island shaped like a nice rear-end and the hull broke. You were probably busy making toys back in Wano at the time..." Isshin retorted with a bite. He focused on the task at hand. "Anyways. I don't think there is much more to tell you than 'make sure to win', right, Captain?" Fischer, well and truly insulted, cut in before Legs had a chance to respond to the question "I didn't factor in your idiocy or Aoshin's degeneracy into my calculations when making that ship. These are of a better caliber and design, believe you me." He tossed the screwdriver up once, twice, thrice more "Also, please do not forget that it is my toys that allow us to hold our territories without being contested. You're welcome, by the way, Isshin." ---- On the southern side of Upolu, a large infrastructure took over the central area with many small buildings around it. In the middle of it all, stood a high flying flag bearing the Jolly Roger of the Royal Pirates. Gathered just outside the main building, the main commanders of the Royal Pirates gathered. Amaka, for one of the first times ever during this battle, stood to her feet and leaned over the table. She bit her lip and smiled, giving each commander that stood around it a gaping eye. Many thoughts ran through her head, some good and some bad. Surprisingly on both fronts, neither managed to lose a crewmate to what seemed to be inevitable death, but at the same time neither seemed to have gotten anywhere. Upolu was a land Amaka and Legs fought for plenty of times and by now, most of its natural resources had been destroyed due to their many battles. The two could both walk away right now and lose nothing. But that would be too easy. Despite the two of them being friends on terms of battling, they were enemies on terms of the sea; their prides was way to much. "Well damn." Amaka finally spoke, folding her arms across her chest. Her golden eyes gazed up at the clouds above, reflecting the rays off the sun onto the table. Again, she allowed her eyes to wander across the faces of her commanders; Bonney Anne the "Explosive Electro", Senju Honey the "Sticky Situation", Chartinger Roselia the Volcano, Harden Aaron the "Iron Maiden", and finally Verde Emer the Mother of Nature. All introduced in order of their ranking. "If what you say about the Marines surrounding us is true, Margie, then it won't be easy getting out of this." Amaka's eyes were now locked on the young teenage, Gallon Margie. The young girl nodded nervously, "Yes, Milady! B-but I don't think the Black Widows know of this information yet! M-maybe we can use this to our advantage!" Amaka smiled once more and even let out a slight chuckle. "So naive, little Margie! It's so cute. But," she'd finally gotten serious. "There's no way Legs hasn't gained the information. Even if she didn't, I wouldn't use it against her. It just ain't my style, ya' know?" Margie sulked behind Aaron hiding her face with the woman's coat. "Sorry Milady..." "Oh no, Margie! There's nothing to be sorry about, sweetheart. Haha, all of this just gets me stoked!" The captain shouted, swaying her head left and right. Anne on the other hand, managed to allow her face to turn completely red. Her eyes brows inched up and she frowned. "Amaka, this ain't time for pampering the kid!" the first mate expressed, smashing her hand into the table and cracking the very earth they stood on. "Fuck that damned Aoshin!" "Lower your tone when speaking to the Captain, Anne." Roselia demanded, eyeing Anne. "My queens, I want all of you to remain calm. Bickering among allies on a battlefront, during a strategy is not wise." Amaka continued to smile. "Amaka, right now, that smile ain't helpin' none of us right now. And if you're gonna sit there and continuing doing it. I'll lay out the plan. Legs has yet to step out yet and probably won't until the Marines step in, if she's got the information like you claim. Until then, I'll go to the norther quarters and storm into their base. I'll take Indiana, while the rest of the commanders follow behind me and spread out to fend off the rest." Anne balled her fist, "We'll do this as a final stretch, the victor will take Upolu." Extending her hand out in front of Anne, Amaka gave off another laugh. "Against any other opponent, that battle strategy would work, Anne. An all out frontal against the opposing commanders, last one standing takes Upolu? Not against Legs. I can guarantee, on my mother's resting soul, Legs has a plan that's nothing like that." Amaka placed her hand on Anne's shoulder. Once she did, all of the surrounding commanders including both Margie and Date glued their eyes onto her. They knew Amaka's next coming words were going be crucial to hear, so that tuned into her with all their attention. "You are the Vice-Captain of the Royal Pirates. You should have a more strategic plan." Amaka placed her palms on the table and looked at the commanders once more, "Here's the plan: I want all of you to spread out among each other and deal with the Marines on the opposing islands. Again, on my mother's resting soul, this will be the same plan that Legs has as well." Honey raised her hand, "Excuse me Milady, Captain Amaka, but if you remain on the island that leads you to to being attacked by reinforced Marines." "Correct Honey! Except, there's two things that won't allow the Marines to even step a foot on Upolu." She held up her index finger, "One; Aaron will use her Zoku Zoku no Mi to create a wall large enough to wrap around the entirety of Upolu, which will cage me in. Because of Margie, she's been able to spread her metal seeds across the island, for this very moment." The fourth division commander lifted her hand once more, "That's only one, milady." Amaka chuckled, "Oh..." she held up another finger. "And two, they won't step a foot on this island as long as they believe Legs and I are still here." "Wait," Aaron, placed her hand on her head. "What does that mean, captain?" "You all don't get it? Not only are you all going to be away dealing with the Marines and creating an opening. You will also be clearing this island, allowing me and Legs to fight without any holding back!" The Ambush It had been at least an hour since Indiana and Aoshin helped Legs pinpoint the location of the Royal Pirates. Yet, there she stood, falling carelessly from the clouds, her fifty-foot frame appearing like a small asteroid plummeting from space itself, until she tore through the ceiling of the Royal Pirates headquarters, crushing the building beneath her feet like some insignificant anthill. There was no surprise that there was no one beneath her feet. It wouldn’t have been fun if there was. Still, her Kenbunshoku revealed to her the truth. Legs turned around carefully, a smirk glued to her visage. “So, where’s the rest of them? How did you know I was going to appear here?” Amaka wholeheartedly welcomed, Legs! Even before the gigantic woman crashed through the Royal Pirate's ceiling Amaka could sense her. It was a sensation she'd managed to develop within herself over the years. She could just feel Legs' presence as though it had its own unique sensation. "What do you mean, Titanboa?! We fought more than a dozen times and you mean to tell me you can't sense it?!" Amaka shouted out tilting her head up analyzing Legs' full being. Amaka drew her sword from underneath her short cape and pointed it towards Legs. "Remain clueless if you would like, Legs." The Royal Captain swiped her blade at her left side, unleashing a small shockwave which leveled the area enough and allowed her to do a simple side step. She drugs her hand across the fine blade of her sword, Murasame. "I knew we'd be battling on this day, but I didn't account for an ambush. A step ahead I see. Who's plan was that?" Legs smirked. “What’d you mean? How’d you know it wasn’t my plan?” There was a moment of silence that preceded, as if Amaka was testing Legs’ words, doubting them even. “Fine, it was Isshin.” She drew her blade from the side of her hip. “But it seems you were prepared still. Where’s the rest of your crew?” "So many questions today, Legs! They are away!" Legs drew her blade and all Amaka could do was follow its massive make as it fell down to her side. Amaka smiled slightly. It seemed Legs did not come to waste any time and Amaka hadn't either. Amaka ran forth a bit, her small figure appeared as a bug running across the ground to Legs. She jumped up and began to kick the air in a diagonal angle, allowing her to essentially "walk on air". With her sword now in front of her, the blade of Murasame suddenly lit up in flames. "Who knows how long this battle will last, so it's best we, Engetsu" Amaka stopped in the middle of her sentence to slash out at the gap between herself and Legs. A small crecent of flames shot from off her blade towards Legs. "GET STARTED AS SOON AS WE CAN! —ENLARGE. Before the attack could get any closer to you, the crescent of flames would grow in size proportion to Legs. A wave of heat exploded into size as it approached Legs, blanketing the world in the shadow of its formidable heat. Legs’ body responded as It should’ve, cloaking her giant frame in a reservoir of Busoshoku haki, not so that it was a blackened armor, but present so that her exoskeleton would not bear the full brute of Amaka’s divine flames. Still, it wouldn’t be enough to protect her if the flames connected, especially not someone who was so sensitive to temperatures in the first place. Leg clutched her blade with two hands, and stepped forward with her left foot, bringing her arms down along her left leg and lifting like she was hitting a golf ball. Nature responded just as it should’ve for the very force of her movements was enough to motivate the wind into action. An air projectile manifested in the shape of her sword, serving as an extension of her instrument, and was launched to clash against the sheet of flames. The two forced collided against one another, strengthening the other in what seemed to be an epic battle between the elements until they both simply faded into the ether, but not without leaving any indication of its arrival. The scorched earth between Legs and Amaka was evidence that this had occurred and would serve as a permanent momentum to its clash. What was scary was that Amaka’s attack and Legs’ defense took no effort from either of them, for in the grand scheme of the battle, their gestures were just simple prods to the other, gestures to ensure that the other was warmed up and ready. Legs slammed her blade into the earth and clapped her palms together like a sennin. “Senjutsu: Lord of Striking Thunder!” It was suddenly that Legs’ hands ignited with a stream of electricity, a technique she had created by combining her devil fruit with the principles of Senjutsu. Fortunate for her spider physiology, Legs found herself blessed with a proportionally as powerful and large nervous system as her arachnid subjects, finding that her body is far more capable of electrical stimulation than it otherwise generates. By using principle of Senjutsu, she could greatly accelerate her bioelectrical currents, and effectively discharge the excess from the pores of her flesh. Legs stuck her hands out in front of herself, and smirked as a wave of electricity, larger than her body, burst forward in the area in front of her, ripping apart the earth and burning whatever remained. "As expected," Amaka stated in response to Legs dealing with her earlier attack. While it may have seemed to be something massive, even Amaka knew that Legs would deal with it swiftly. She just wanted to heat things up, no pun intended. Following the deflection of Amaka's attack, Legs proceeded forth with an attack of her own. Striking Thunder, a technique Amaka had seen once in the past and one of the main components which led into her defeat that day. The Royal Pirates captain had flashes of when Legs first utilized the technique, she pulled it out of her hat as though she were a magician... and Amaka would never forget that feeling of defeat she felt. But today was a new day, a new battlefront, and a more determined Amaka. The wave of electricity ran wild around the area, quickly making its way towards Amaka destroying the ground the combatants stood on just to reach its target. Reserved as she could be, Amaka planted her two feet on the ground and slightly squatted. Reaching with her free hand to grab the hilt of her sword, she held a two-handed stance. Her porcelain dark skin slowly became covered in a black armor. As the electrical wave closed in, Amaka thrust her sword forward, colliding with the lightning. The collision of the lightning with the sword caused sparks to occur and a mini explosion shortly after. The lightning shot at the surrounding area began to seemingly crawl its way towards Amaka's Murasame. It would appear as though Amaka managed to tame Legs' attack and she did so by utilizing her blade as an attracting rod for the lightning. The only thing that could be seen left of her blade, was the hilt. The metallic portion of the blade was coated in Legs' lightning, stiffening and forming into a "bolt", now appearing as a mere extension of Murasame. Quickly drawing the bolted blade downwards towards the side of her hip, Amaka ripped through the ground. "Raigetsu!" She shouted, turning Legs' own technique against her and releasing a crescent of lightning coated compressed air just barely larger than the Widow herself. Murasame on the other hand, upon releasing the attack, snapped in half. The snapped half flipped in the air and planted itself into the ground; it was broken. There was no time for hesitation as Legs hands moved elegantly in the air, as if she weaving concepts into the air itself. Thus, as the blast of lightning accelerated, zipping through the atmosphere like real thunder, Legs visions became manifest. Suddenly, her blue, glowing hands stopped, and as the lightning collided within her personal space, the air around it manifested to stop it. Mirror mirror… Those words appeared ever so quickly, and faded just as quickly too, that being the only indicator of what happened. Legs was a skilled enchantress, the beauty of her Devil Fruit was that she could weave anything, even concepts into existing things. She could weave concepts of a mirror, or of a shield into the world around her, into the natural elements even so that they did her bidding. It was what made her nearly unbeatable. The lightning collided and immediately turned back around to strike Amaka again, this time, leading towards her without the help of her blade. "Dang..." Amaka thought to herself, the type of woman to avoid the use of cursive language as best she could. Despite her being a Pirate, she wanted to one day start her own family and she didn't want her children to pick up her bad habits. "To think she'd break my Ryo Wazamono." The royal faced the incoming lightning without fear and instead grew a large smile on her face. "You started the party off with your ninjutsu, Legs. Please, excuse me for being late. I'm such a bad guest." Smashing her palm into the ground, there was a circular symbol formed underneath her and a light appeared to help outline it. Within the symbol were all sorts of shapes, letters, and inscriptions. With one of her hands still pressing against the symbol on the ground, she used her other to form some sort of hand gesture in front of her face. In the same moment, a wall of metal burst through the core of the earth which was used as a shield to protect Amaka from the reflected lightning attack. With another hand gesture, the wall began to shape and bend into a sphere, swallowing the lightning and holding reserving it. Once safe, Amaka jumped on top of the large sphere to look up at Legs. "Hope that didn't surprise you too much, Legs." Amaka pointed underneath the sphere to the symbol on the ground. "After losing in our last battle to that wicked ninjutsu art of yours, I could help but to seek out exactly what I could do match it. I tried working harder on my devil fruit capabilities and even my swordsmanship, but I knew that wasn't enough. I search for and wide for that." She stated, referring to that statement. "If I had time, I'd explain it to you in full. But I'll have to thank the Elves for teaching me the Art of Alchemy." Legs smiled, pulling her blade from the cracked hearth into her hand. "The Eleven tribe eh?" From what she had understood, they were a rather hidden people, masked from the face of humanity out of fear of slavery, and corruption of their magics. She had desperately sought them out to improve her own powers. If she could combine their mystic alchemy with her enchantments, she imagined that there would be nothing to stop her from being Pirate King. "Of course," Legs chuckled, "I don't know what else to expect from my rival. Of course you'd be the one to find them, Amaka. You always did have a deep fascination with the myths of their Alchemy. It was only a matter of time, I suppose." She gripped her blade tighter and lifted it above her head. "Though, even your Alchemy won't be enough I'm afraid." She brought the blade down towards the ground, crafting a blue wave of kinetic energy that surged vertically towards Amaka, its size and width surpassing Legs' own. It ripped across the island, tearing apart the foundation that it was upon, until the island found itself being split in half from her swing. Amaka gave off another one of her many smiles, watching as Legs had begun her assault with her blade. She'd seem Legs attack with her blade plenty of times before and not once did the opposing pirate disappoint her. In the process of excitement, Legs launched her kinetic slash at the island leaving Amaka no real time to counter it... not that she had a counter, to begin with. "Shadow Stitch", Amaka muttered to herself, vanishing from her previous place in the air and reappear behind Legs as though she'd been attached to Legs' shadow. Shadow Stitch was a technique Amaka managed to learn from her short time on Wano. "Legs!" Amaka shouted, her voice like a whisper to the gigantic woman. "I've gotta' give it to your people of Wano Kuni! Your swordplay and techniques are beyond anything I've seen outside of the land! I'll have to thank that brat Marth of the Tokugawa Clan." There was a sudden breath of silence as the island's foundation would find itself destroyed. Amaka's body would begin to glow and so did large star in the sky as well, the Sun. Amaka would suddenly begin to undergo a transformation. Her entire body becoming engulfed in golden flames was the initial process of her transformation, but she stopped there. Managing to somehow rest in midair achieving flight, she swiped her hand at Legs' back. As she did, she released a gigantic wave of flames literally the exact same size as the woman in attempts to engulf her from behind. "Already unveiling your Devil Fruit?" Legs inquired, her eyes flickering a bright red as her Kenbunshoku Haki helped her follow Amaka's movements. As the tsunami of divine flames consumed all before her, Legs pivoted her foot, and gripped her sword with two hands as if it was some battle axe. She turned, pulling the sword around like a baseball bat, as if she was taking at a swing at something, crafting a gale of winds to conquer the flames. However, these flames were far more powerful than she had remembered. "The flames of a god....." They slammed into Legs slash, effortlessly pushing against it as if was insignificant. Legs swung again, and again, until an army of air slices managed to merely halt Amaka's flames. Then, just as she thought she achieved victory, they exploded, releasing a shockwave of kinetic energy that surged across the broken terrain, splitting the island even further into mere fragments of itself. Meanwhile, Legs was being launched across, her giant form skidding like a pebble in water. Still, there was no time for her to lose focus, not while the island was torn asunder like this. Any mistake could have her launched into the ocean. As she tumbled violently, Legs mustered the necessary concentration to throw her sword in front of her, and contorted her agile body to catch her body on the enormous broadsword, stopping her momentum towards the sea. Her smile deepened as her eyes caught Amaka, whose attack had easily launched her nearly half a mile away. "Holy shit, Amaka....I underestimated those flames again." Legs words were mainly for herself, for her tone was hushed and reflective. Legs buckled her knees, and swung her sword around to her hip in preparation for her next attack. "Ninja Art: Body Flicker Technique!" "The shinobi of Wano have trained in this mystic art, Koyuki. It is essential for your development." She still hadn't understood. What would be the need for it? Not when she was so powerful already. "In fact, for you, it is probably the most important of them all." Koyuki stepped forward slightly, a look of surprised glued to her visage..."But ho" "Tell me child. Have you ever tried to catch a fly?" Koyuki nodded side to side. "I can barely see a fly." "Oh...right. Well, it's sort of like trying to catch an....er...a bird! Yes, a bird. You are far stronger, overwhelmingly so, but if you can't grab it, what's the point? If you can't keep up with its speed, it's only a matter of time before you crumble." "And so this will help me..." The older shinobi interrupted. "No, this will make you faster than that bird. The principle of the technique is to run forward and slide...you see? It only requires a mere explosion of momentum." The initial propulsion of Legs was visible, but within that span of a mere second, between her propelling herself forward, and her slide, Legs was gone. Though, Amaka's Haki would definitely reveal to her the ruse. "I can do something like that too, Amaka!" Legs echoed from behind the woman, who simply blinked into existence behind her in the air. When she had jumped was unknown, but its implied that her initial propulsion was not to send her across the earth, but to have her slide through the air. Legs swung her sword towards Amaka, mustering up enough force to churn the winds as she always did. However, suddenly, from the lower edge of her hip, an extra armed emerged, surging from Legs body from underneath Amaka, imbued in the Yonko's Busoshoku Haki. Before Amaka could even properly respond, Legs had already launched her counter attack. A counter attack that Amaka knew good and damn well she wouldn't be able to deal with had she even attempted to respond to Legs' claim. A strike from a newly grown limb coming from underneath and another from her sword at the back, both she sensed with her kenbunshoku haki. Amaka's options were limited and while Shadow Stitching seemed like teleportation, it was not. It was nothing more than high-speed movement achieved through preliminary stages of body control. To use it again would not only be impossible but a very dumb decision. Even then, while she knew that, she had enough time to make a decision. One that would be painful once mad, but it'd be most definitely better than losing her life in its entirety. Holding her hand down to her side, a light flashed revealing the same circular symbol summoned on the ground from before--an Alchemical circle. A square in the circle highlight itself like a hologram and lifted from it. At Amaka's back, raindrop-like symbol emerged and rested. In the next breath both symbols laid on top of each other, the square and the raindrop, shining even bright than before only to cast a wall of metal which shoot towards Legs' oncoming sword strike. Her goal was not to stop Legs' strike, no. See something crafted that quick and on the fly would NEVER be able to stop a strike from the Titanboa.. Not even if the giant had been bed written for five years and took her first stand back on the battlefield. However, stopping it wasn't Amaka's intention. Not even in the slightest. It was to halt it enough so that Amaka could take on Legs' underneath strike head-on without having to worry about a second strike ending her life. Before she could react to the itsy slow down of Legs' blade, her entire body found itself smashed by Legs' armored limb, striking the woman and sending her high into the air, into the very mist of precipitation we knew as clouds. Another raindrop symbol formed near her soaring body, courtesy of Legs' horrific punch, Amaka's body had been sudden swallowed by a "bubble" of water. A wind-like symbol formed next, stopping her from flying further into the atmosphere to the non-returning lands of space. Redirecting the wind through the aid of her alchemy, her body was laid upon the cushioning of the clouds, high above where Legs could no longer even see. Coughing up blood, Amaka lifted her torso up and laid her arm across her bent leg. "Had it not been for my own armament haki, and alchemy fending off against her blade, I'd have suffered from more than just some broken bones." She gave off another laugh, wiping the lone stream of blood from off of her mouth. "I can't take too many more of those. Especially not on the fly. Next time, I'll be ready." Dragging herself back to her feet, Amaka waved her hands and split the clouds apart, revealing her figure to Legs. Even at that distance, with Legs' enhanced vision, she'd easily be able to see the wounds Amaka suffered from that single blow. "What do you mean, Legs?" Amaka asked, her soft voice somehow managed to reach the woman from such a great distance. "You're no random Pirate surfing the seas of the New World. You are my rival WORTHY of these flames!" Amaka laughed again, spitting out just a tad bit more blood. "I do want to apologize to you, for not going straight to my golden flames, however... Even you are worth the build up in some manner!" Amaka's body instantly became enveloped in flames. Her half-length cape swiftly increased in size, turning into a full-sized Kimono of flames. She grew in height as well. Her six-foot figure swiftly changed into that of a nine-foot giant... well compared to a normal human that is. Even her hair grew longer, just shy a few feet in comparison to her kimono which covered the sky in a brilliant flame, as though the very atmosphere had been lit up in fire. Holding her hands out, she looked down at Legs who, if she couldn't see her small figure, she'd most definitely feel Amaka's heat and see her bright figure now. A form Legs had seen multiple times as Amaka's enemy on the sea, this was the woman's near full form of her mythical zoan devil fruit, Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Amaterasu. Still, for as many times as Legs was exposed to Amaka’s flames, she was never truly prepared for the sheer heat that radiated from her being. Even this far away, it basically slapped Legs in the face, moving her into a light sweat. Though, each time that they met on the battlefield, the flames somehow got hotter. She looked at the earth beneath Amaka’s blazing figure, watching it slowly molt and churn into magma beneath the soles of her feet. “Heh, there’s no way…” Legs chuckled, as her third arm simply poofed from existence as all Zoan transformations seemed to do. “There’s no way I can use this against you. Not like this. Not while your flames are like that.” There was some part of Legs that deeply desired to join Amaka, to fully unleash herself to the world, but she couldn’t. That was the beauty of Amaka’s powers, why they were rivals. Because in her zoan transformations, Legs is susceptible to extreme temperatures. The cold put her into hibernation, the heat burned her out. With Amaka’s heat, there was no way that Legs could maintain her transformation. Not fully at least, without suffering severe consequences. Whereas Legs forced Amaka to perfect new techniques and craft, Amaka forced Legs to hone her natural abilities. She made her better and stronger. She kept her honest. Legs clenched the hilt of her sword tighter, the force of her hand moving the winds themselves into a violent breeze coiling around her hand. “Amaka, I don’t know how long this island will last anymore. So let’s fight until the island collapses…” She bent her knees slightly, like a tiger preparing its pounce. The island rebuked the force of her legs; slabs of earth shout outward into the air like pillars, unable to bear the brute of her strength—100% of her strength. Her Busoshoku Haki enveloped her body in a deep case of armor. “Let’s go!” She took her first step, dissipating into a blur of flickers and images of her frame, the only visual indications of her movement being the craters that she leaves behind, and the changing direction of the wind, each one spurning into new directions that cyclones of debris and rubble evoked in the battleground behind her as Legs charged. Her intention was simple; upon reaching Amaka, she would lift her blade, embroidered in her Haki, to clash directly with the women’s body. Spider's Hot Day Amaka and Legs. Two names that shook the very world and even the World Government feared their battles. Time and time again, once they heard of a clash between the Black Widow and Royal Pirates, they raced to their battlegrounds to try and corner each of the crews and catch the one that suffered the most during the battle. Amaka and Legs were true rivals. In one way or another, each of them had an edge over the other in a specific category. For Amaka, it had been devil fruit, which forced Legs to enhance her physical capabilities. For Legs, it was her mass and her swordsmanship, which forced Amaka to focus more on her Haki. They respect one another sincerely, so each battle they gave it their all. Why would this be any different? Legs stated that their battle would destroy this island, but Amaka was well aware of that. Each of the members of both crews knew that. To be honest, Amaka nor Legs really cared about the land of Upolu. Sure it opened up more chances for one of the crews to branch out. Or for one of them to gain more income, but Legs and Amaka never TRULY cared for that. Amaka owned Yggdrasil and Legs owned Wano, two countries with mines of gold. Upolu was just an extra two cents for their pockets. No, it wasn't for the lands. It was a much simpler reasons: to fight each other. Amaka smiled as Legs moved with great speed, she expected nothing less from her greatest rival and probably the only person set to steal the Strongest Woman in the World title from her. The Royal Pirate did not sit idle while Legs began preparations for her attack. At the snap of her finger, a burst of flames erupted outwards from her body like a protective dome, completely covering the sky in her illustrious ability. "Legs, it's taken me a while to figure out the source. But, while I trained at the Ryutsume Dojo, I finally figured it out. My source of power is you! So come at me!" Kicking the air and launching herself forward, Amaka shattered the sound barrier as she shot towards an oncoming Amaka. Holding her hand out, she created a thin blade of flames which she'd brought forward to clash against Legs'. The clash alone caused a shockwave which covered the whole land of Upolu. The pressure from their attacks completely destroyed Upolu creating an opening for the magma to shoot directly upwards right behind Amaka and Legs. Dramatic, if that's what you'd like to call it, but even the earth exploded with excitement. With an overwhelming burst of strength, Amaka found herself sent flying backward from Legs' strike. Her body, while increasing in size a bit, was flung across the skies like a pebble in across a lake. Unusual exchange of blows, as Amaka had been sure she'd be able to put up an equal amount of force against Legs' own strike, so just what could have happened? Simple, Legs' haki had gotten much stronger. Flipping to regain her stance, Amaka's hand drug across the air as though she'd been sliding on the ground leaving a trail of flames behind as she did. "Well, I'd be damned!" Amaka stated to Legs, cursing for the first time in many years. You bring that side out of me, Legs. I just want to BURN EVERYTHING IF IT MEANT WE COULD KEEP FIGHTING!" Legs hadn't been spared the brute of Amaka's own strike, her giant frame skidding backwards, the sheer force of her being rebuked destroying the land behind her like brittle crackers. She lifted her head up, exhaling deeply. Her eyes were lit with emotion. "Hahaha!" Legs cheered, pulling her sword over her shoulder. "Then come, Amaka. Show me what you got!!" Smiling wider Amaka responded, "Exactly, Legs!" Standing straight up, Amaka coated her blade in the flames of her devil fruit ability. In a single motion, Amaka release yet another crescent of flames towards Legs. And just like the time before, as it traveled down the path of Legs, it continued to grow in size. Embers flew from the strike falling onto the remains of the land Legs broke with her single leap, and sunk into the sea heating it beyond imaginable temperatures. The sea water, despite being a natural weakness to devil fruit users, boiled from the flames that sunk into its body. It had virtually become a gigantic pot that had been left on a stove at max fire output. Amaka had intentions to attack Legs, yes, but what she really had been intending to do, was light the world around the two on fire. Just as she'd mentioned a moment ago, Amaka had been willing to burn the world to a crisp if it meant she could live the rest of her days fighting Legs. Yet, the Royal Pirates' captain had so much more up her sleeve that only Legs could make her bring out. Which was one of the many similarities that the two shared. Amaka was often the only one capable of forcing Legs to adapt, and to think about her next moves. That was the epitome of their rivalry. Two women, forced into an unforgiving world, bent on the creation and immortalization of a much more fair reality; a reality, where perhaps, they could have lived in peace. Constantly, they challenged one another, not for dominion or even power, but for self-improvement. Over their many battles, they had been forced to grow and develop new strengths. Every time Amaka unleashed her flames, a wave of heat slapped Legs upon her visage as if she was opening an oven. Legs lifted her leg up and unleashed a hefty kick towards the ground, causing the dying island to tremble from the force of her blow. Yet, as the shockwaves reverberated in the earth, they also used the air itself as a medium, crafting a tsunami of air that traveled around Legs. As it clashed with Amaka's flames, the air and fire mixed as their momentum's pinched them into tornadoes of pure inferno that pulled any debris, homes, rocks, etc., and completely melted them, turning some to ash and some to molten rock. Legs dug her hand into the earth, pulling a chunk of the island into her palm like a child packing a snowball. "Batter's up!!" Legs jested, stepping forward as she hurled a portion of Upolu towards Amaka like a cannonball. Amaka smiled at the catastrophe unfolding. It brought a different level of satisfaction and excitement to her. But why? She and Legs had clashed over a hundred times before. Why would she continue to have aneurysms each time the two fought? Because, at their current time, there was no woman who matched their capabilities. You could look at the bottom of the seven seas and search where the all blue is and you'd still come up short with a bunch of wannabes. "To know you'd remember that baseball is my favorite sport. But I'll have you know Legs," Amaka shouted out to her rival, holding her hand out to her side creating a small baseball bat of flames. "Had it not been for our rivalry, I'd have been able to go pro!" The island inched closer and closer towards Amaka and once it was within striking distance, Amaka executed. Pulling the pat all the way back, she swung forward with the might of the gods and crashed her makeshift bad into the core of the earth chunk. Upon instant contact, the island shattered into thousands of pieces of rock. "Burn." Amaka commanded, seemingly setting each of the chunks of rock on fire with her words alone, but it was due to her devil fruit's ability. Direction changed, these fiery rocks rained down over Legs in every way possible. While they had no true objective, if they made contact with Legs the flames would sure latch onto Legs and set her ablaze. To prevent any chance of these flaming rocks to contact her, Legs simply waved her arm outwards, conjuring a tempest wind that rebuked them away from her. They went flying across the island, setting whatever they smote ablaze. “If it weren’t for you, Amaka, I would probably be bored out of my mind! Lately, all I’ve come across are people hoping to be like us, you know. They think they have a chance,” Legs explained, shaking her head in disappointment. “But they don’t understand that you and I are cut from a different breed! There isn’t another woman in this world that can step up to us…though, that Silvenya might be able to one day, if we keep slacking...Though, I doubt this island is thinking the same thing." Legs glanced at the burning remains of Upolu. "I say we have about five more minutes before this entire thing becomes uninhabitable." "Yeah right," Amaka led on, stationed in mid-air levitating on what was left of Upolu. "There's no one, except maybe that Henson-girl, that would make me as hot and bother as our battles do." Amaka shook her head in agreeance with her opponent. Though they may have been enemies in battle, they were friends at heart and stood to understand each other. Smiling, Amaka looked across her shoulder. "You said five minutes, Koyuki? We have about half of that before the Marines make it here. I can sense a fleet approaching us from the rear." She pointed her finger towards what remained of the island, it's gold and other valuable resources leaked and spread across the land and see. All of it casualties to the battle between the two women. But they didn't care in honesty. They just wanted to see just how much stronger the other had gotten and the reward would have been the island. "I say we end this right now, Titanboa!" Heat emitting from her body, it began to levitate and gather above her head. She grunted and behind it was an overflowing release of flames that gather and condensed over her head in the form of a sphere. She looked down to Legs and the sphere continued to grow. The heat emitting from the sphere was so immense that her own pores spat back out in sweat. "I've been saving this one for you, Legs! Look at it!" The sphere's size finally ceased to increase, but what it came to be would leave Legs hopefully speechless. At this point, to still refer to it as "just a sphere" would be an insult. No, it was much more. It was condensed. Hot. Unreal. It dwarfed the island and had it been formed by anything other than heat, it would have brought a shadow to the sea and land. The light it gave off was blinding. Just like when someone flicks the light on to wake you from your deep slumber. That's right, it was, "A sun!" She shouted, snapping her fingers and allowing the sphere of flames to flash a brilliant bright light. Untold Secrets “….That was our last battle before, you know, your death. I still couldn’t believe what happened, so I took a trip to Welsh Island myself. I found Zack there, Amaka. I took him, and I promised to nurture him. However, I missed Meagan. I didn’t know that she existed, Amaka. I’m sorry for that, but she’s safe now. She’s safe on Wano with me. We’re preparing to storm Amazon Lily and retake it. Though, we still have some time before that happens if you would like to see her.” Legs frequently visited to the shrines of Watarishima to speak to those she had lost; it was her only semblance of a religion, and in this particular shrine rested the Hito Hito no Mi, Model: Amaterasu upon a sacred altar. There was normally never another person in here, but today there was. Today, Amaka stood before Legs, anew to reclaim the very fruit that Legs had kept safe for her. "The last battle, I remember it as though it were yesterday." Amaka chuckled just at the thought of the battle, reliving it over and over again in her head as though it were on repeat. "Meagan was a secret I kept from the World Government, Koyuki." Turning her golden gaze to the devil fruit resting on the altar, Amaka's heart dropped before she met it with a warm smile. She knew Legs had been opening a path for her to go up to it and take it, but she felt that she needed to at least do Legs the justice of telling it all. Legs had protected both of her kids and even went the extra mile to search high and low for her comrade's former fruit. Amaka owed her so much. She squatted where she stood and took a seat next to Legs. Amaka appeared as nothing but a pebbled when next to her, but if they were using heart as a comparison, she'd be neck and neck with her. The Royal Pirate captain looked across the sea. "There is so much of my past that I kept hidden from you, Princess Koyuki. Looking back at it, I feel less of a friend knowing I did. You took care of Meagan and Zack as though they were your own, while also running an empire. But there is this boy," Amaka began, leaning back on her palms and looking to the sky. "A prince, I am well aware that you know of him. I read the papers, Princess Koyuki. Ferrothorn Braxton, of the Ferrothorn Family." Amaka looked down to her lap, "I am unaware of how he acquired this information. For I am sure he did not share it. But he knows the real reason behind why I was murdered." She then turned her gaze to Legs, "We have fought plenty of times, but not once have you had petty tuition to have me slaughtered even though the opportunity presented itself. If you are willing to hear, Koyuki, I would like to share with you the reason as to why my execution came as quick as it did." Legs nodded. “Yeah, I would like to know Amaka. So that we can do everything in our power to prevent it a second time.” "Preventing?" Amaka looked down at her hands with great disappointment, "He is already taking every measure to ensure that it is being prevented." Amaka looked at Legs with a grand smile, "I haven't told you anything just yet, but for some reason, I feel a heavy burden off of my shoulder already." "Alright Legs, I'll start from the beginning." Clearing her smile, she looked back to the sky again. "After the battle against Grave Eldric, I fled and officially disbanded the Royal Pirates as a crew before turning myself into him. My fate had already been decided before I even got on that boat to Impel Down. They planned on taking me to level six for the joy of torturing me. But, while enroute to the prison, we crossed paths with the vessel belonging to a World Noble. He boarded the ship and asked what were they doing. Eldric explained that they were turning me over to Impel Down and brought me out to meet this World Noble. At first, I was hesitant but he had a warm look in his eye. He knew who I was beyond the Pirate persona and even referred to me as my original identity, Princess Amaka of the Yggdrasil Kingdom. He declared that their mission would change and ordered that he would be taking me back to the Holy Land as his mistress." Amaka paused, "And so he did. I returned with him to the Holy Land and was forced to live with him. While I was not treated as the other slaves, I was most definitely isolated as one and forced into labor. I was strong, he did not like that, so he changed my duties into things much lighter. Bringing him food, catering to him, and activities that led to stuff against my will--rape if you will. I met his children when they were young, but I was never granted the opportunity to bond with them. Guess that's the price you pay of being a slave to the Nobles. They were all adorable, each and every one of them and I couldn't help but think how much happier I'd be if I had children. His one-sided sexual relationship went on for months until he finally had his slip up." Again, the woman paused and looked to Legs and then looked to her stomach. She rubbed on it and nodded as Legs' eyes widened. "Yes, Koyuki, I found myself pregnant." She smiled, "I was so excited when I first got the news! But I did not know how I would relay it. I thought, maybe if I told him, things would change just a bit and for the better. But they did not. I had not been utilizing my brain to maximum capacity and when he found out he was devastated. He told his best friend, a man by the name of Jax and he suggested that I be executed at once. It seems the father of my children was not compliant with it and instead present a deal to me. 'If you leave the Holy Land and speak nothing of this incident and live your life in seclusion with this child, I will allow you to live'. For anyone else that sounds like madness, but for me, it was an opportunity I would not be given once again. Hastily I left the Holy Land and stationed myself among the people of the Welch Island." She then looked to Legs once again, "You know of this story for the most part, I shared bits of it with you in the past. I shall now enlighten you on a bit of information you do not. Zack was a child born to me and as you've just discovered recently, so was Amazon D. Meagan, twins correct?" Shaking her head left and right, "Wrong, Legs. I was not bestowed with twins, I was instead blessed with quintuplets. Quintuplets are a rare case, but more likely for someone like me who was born a triplet. These children are, Buster D. Zack and Meagan, you know those two. The next three are: Buster D. Katanah, Bryant D. Kobe, and one I've read about in the newspaper recently Dragon D. Dexter. There are only three other people who are aware of this: Bonney Anne, the first mate of the Royal Pirates and Ferrothorn Braxton. Anne makes sense, correct? She is my first mate, why would I keep something away from her, or more importantly, why would I tell her." Amaka squinted her eyes, "Even you know it would be bad to keep such a secret away from her. But the latter gathered the information from a source outside of Anne because she would never. That's because these children are his siblings and the child to his father, Saint Marlon." Legs’ eyes widened as Amaka told her all this information. It was a struggle to take all of it, from the ploy to have her taken to Impel Down to being picked up by a World Noble and then forcefully kicked out of the holy land. What was the strategy there? But, more than anything.. “Y-You had all them kids? Did that shit hurt?” "Woooow," Amaka began, mouth dropping wide open. "YOU OF ALL PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED?!" Amaka exclaimed, standing to her feet while pointing her finger at Legs. "I've always been jealous of you because you had kids in the past, be proud of me okay?" Sighing, she threw her head down. "Of course it hurt, are you crazy? I've been stabbed your blade, a blade wielded by a giant multiple times, and even that pales in comparison. That Kobe hurt the most, it was like trying to get the boulder through a small crack..." Her eyes drifted upon Legs, "He has a big head." "I split all of my kids up because I didn't want them with the burden of Marlon trying to get them away from the world. I did not try to hide my children from the world, I tried hiding the world from my children. Also, thank you, Lady Legs, for going completely against what I wanted Zack to be. I come back and the first thing I hear is, Zack's a pirate." Sighing, Amaka shook her head. "In all honesty, that's all I came here to share. This honestly, isn't even close to being about me. How have you been holding up over the years. Yonko, huh?" Legs chuckled and scratched the back of her head. “Well, I guess aside from turning Zack into a delinquent, not much else has been happening, Lady Amaka,” Legs teased. “Though, my own children seem to have also become rebellious spirits. It’s not a good thing, though Amaka. Not right now; I can’t protect them.” Legs walked looked towards the ceiling of the shrine thoughtfully. “You see, a new era is upon us Amaka. An era where another Pirate King is slated to be born; I’ve never wanted the mantle for myself. It was…unnecessary for my goals. However, if an era is about to begin, then it may be time for me to awaken yet again.” Category:Role-Plays Category:Berserkchart486 Category:EmperorSigma